2 · Verb endings and speech levels
Honorific words: 드시다, 주무시다, 계시다
special verbs and nouns of respect
A few everyday verbs and nouns have honorific forms of their own, and with a respected person the honorific ending alone is not enough.
Some verbs do not simply add -시-; they are replaced by a different word. Eating and drinking become 드시다 (very respectfully also 잡수시다), sleeping 주무시다, being somewhere 계시다, speaking 말씀하시다, being ill 편찮으시다, and dying 돌아가시다. They conjugate like any verb: 드세요, 주무셨어요, 계십니다.
있다 splits in two. For a person being somewhere it becomes 계시다: 할아버지가 방에 계세요. For a person having something it becomes 있으시다: 선생님은 시간이 있으세요? The first is about the person, the second about what belongs to them, and mixing them up is a classic mistake.
Several nouns have honorific partners as well: 나이 → 연세 (age), 이름 → 성함 (name), 집 → 댁 (home), 생일 → 생신 (birthday), 밥 → 진지 (meal), 말 → 말씀 (words), 사람 → 분 (person). The polite way to ask a name or an age is 성함이 어떻게 되세요? and 연세가 어떻게 되세요?
Particles have honorific forms too: 께서 for the subject, 께서는 for the topic and 께 for "to". In conversation many people say 할머니가 주무세요; 께서 is the more formal choice and common in speeches and writing. English speakers forget the nouns once they have the verbs, or use them about themselves, saying 제 성함 where only 제 이름 is right.
The form
| eat, drink | 먹다, 마시다 → 드시다 |
| sleep | 자다 → 주무시다 |
| be somewhere | 있다 → 계시다 |
| speak | 말하다 → 말씀하시다 |
| age, name, home | 나이 → 연세, 이름 → 성함, 집 → 댁 |
| subject particle | 이, 가 → 께서 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
Eating and drinking become 드시다 when a respected person does it.
할아버지, 많이 드세요.Please have plenty, Grandfather.
Sleeping becomes 주무시다.
아버지는 벌써 주무세요.My father is already asleep.
Being somewhere is 계시다; having something stays 있으시다.
교수님은 지금 연구실에 계세요.The professor is in the office now.
Age, name and home have honorific nouns: 연세, 성함, 댁.
성함이 어떻게 되세요?May I have your name?
께서 replaces 이/가 for a respected subject.
할머니께서 전화하셨어요.Grandmother called.
A closer look
How far to go
Honorifics come in degrees, and everyday speech does not use all of them at once. 할머니가 주무세요 — honorific verb, ordinary particle — is what most people say at home. 할머니께서 주무십니다 adds the honorific particle and the formal ending and sounds like a speech or a letter.
A good default for a learner is the honorific verb or noun together with -(으)시-, the ordinary particle 이/가, and the polite ending. Save 께서 for formal speech and writing, and for moments when you want to show particular respect.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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someone has died
the respectful verb is 돌아가시다, literally "go back", never the plain word for dying.
할아버지는 작년에 돌아가셨어요.My grandfather passed away last year.
Talking about a death is where respect matters most, and the plain verb would sound cold or even rude about a person.
How to spot it
- 드시다
- 주무시다
- 계시다
- 께서
- 연세
- 성함
- 댁
Example sentences
할머니, 아침 드셨어요?Grandma, have you had breakfast?
사장님은 지금 사무실에 안 계세요.The president is not in the office now.
할아버지 연세가 어떻게 되세요?How old is your grandfather?
선생님 댁이 어디세요?Where do you live? (to a teacher)
아버지 생신 선물을 샀어요.I bought a present for my father's birthday.
교수님께서 회의에서 말씀하셨어요.The professor spoke at the meeting.
8 more example sentences
어머니, 안녕히 주무세요.Good night, Mum.
사장님, 커피 한 잔 드시겠어요?Would you like a cup of coffee?
부모님은 집에 계세요?Are your parents at home?
할아버지께서 편찮으세요.My grandfather is unwell.
선생님 말씀 잘 들었습니다.Thank you for what you said.
할머니 댁에 다녀왔어요.I went to visit my grandmother at her home.
손님, 성함하고 전화번호를 써 주세요.Please write down your name and phone number.
할아버지께서 진지를 드세요.Grandfather is having his meal.
Worth knowing (1)
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분 instead of 사람
For a person you respect, 분 replaces 사람: 이분, 그분, 저분, and 몇 분 for "how many people". Restaurants and shops count their guests this way.
저분이 우리 할머니세요.That lady over there is my grandmother.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
계시다 means that a respected person is somewhere. Here the question is whether they have time — something that belongs to them — and for having, 있다 takes the ordinary honorific: 있으세요.
Some verbs change their whole word for a respected person: deusida, jumusida, gyesida.
Your turn
9 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.